WLC Program Overview
A snapshot of the muscle building program...

The WLC Program is intended to last 12 weeks or slightly longer. The slightly longer part is up to you and will depend on whether or not you can increase the weight further at the end of the cycle and still get your reps in. More on this later. I usually like to state that each WLC Cycle is 12 weeks, but remember that it can go longer if you're still progressing well. The longer, the better.

You must "Reset" before beginning the program. The reset will allow your body to fully recover from any fatigue that's been built up in the previous weeks. If you've been doing a tough weight lifting program and are feeling beat up, I suggest you take a full two week break for your reset. If you've been lifting weights inconsistently and you feel pretty good, then only take a week off. True beginners will not have to do the reset when beginning WLC, but will be required after one cycle through WLC.


The WLC Program Overview, shown below, should really start to give you an understanding of how the program works. Continue reading on the "WLC Program" page to give you an even greater understanding.


The WLC Program Overview below gives general information about the program. Sets, reps, frequency, and every aspect of the program can be adpated to fit your goals and your body. Please read each of the programs (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Abbreviated) to understand more about the best fit for you!

After studying the table, you might have a few questions. For a full explanation of each of the WLC components, you can read about them on the "WLC Program" page. There is a button on the navigation bar or a link at the bottom of this page. Here's a weekly WLC Program overview:

If you look at the first 3 weeks, you will see that we will be rising up in weight to a maximum weight for 12 reps. I have chosen a higher rep range here so we will be able to increase the weight and decrease the reps throughout the cycle. This will keep us progressing throughout.

In week 4, we will decrease the reps to 10 and decrease the amount of weight. We will add an extra set to certain exercises throughout the week. We will increase the weight as the week goes on. This week will allow your body to recover from the fatigue we put our body thru in Weeks 1 thru 3 and especially week 3.

Week 5 will be the first intensity week. During this week we will focus on going beyond our previous 10 rep maxes for all the exercises. We will increase the weight throughout the week, and we will have only 1 set to do for each exercise. Your focus for this week should be to beat your previous 10 rep max, and the program design will make it easier for you to do so.

Week 6 is another recovery week in which we will decrease the weight and the number of reps from 10 to 8. We will add another set to some exercises as the week goes on. We will also increase the weight as the week goes on.

Week 7 is an intensity week and mirrors all the other intensity weeks except the rep range for this week is 8. I want you to get 8 reps on every exercise for a single set. We will go beyond any previous 8 rep maxes you had on every exercise. These intensity weeks are the weeks we build some serious muscle.

Week 8 is yet another recovery week that comes after you finish the tough intensity week. You will give your mind and body a break during this week. I want you to seriously focus on improving your form on all exercises and really feeling the muscles work. We will increase some of the sets to 2, but the weight will be decreased from the previous week and the reps will be decreased to 6. We will increase the weight as the week goes on.

Week 9 is the last intensity week and one of the most important ones. I love the 6 rep range because you really start to notice all of your results and get excited. You really start to work hard during this week and become motivated and ready for Week 10. We will increase your 6 rep max in Week 9 and we will continue that in Week 10.

Week 10 is an amazing week! This will be one of your toughest weeks and this week will start to wear you down a little by the end of the week. I call this Week 10, but you can continue as long as you want as long as you are increasing the weight every workout and getting your 6 reps. Once you can't get your reps in for most of your exercises, I want you to move on to Week 11.

We're going to start winding back down in this week. We're going to keep the weight heavy, but we'll decrease the amount of reps you will be doing. I want you to keep the weight the same, but decrease reps each workout from 5 to 4 to 3. This will give your body a break by decreasing the overall volume from workout to workout.

Week 12 is a reset week in which we will work on a full recovery that will have you ready for the next WLC cycle. You will get a full 9 days of recovery during reset. That is if you end your last workout on a Friday, take the entire next week off, and start again on Monday. That's 9 full days of rest. I do not want you doing any activities during ths week. No weight lifting and no cardio.

This WLC Program Overview should have helped you to understand the design of the program. You need to learn more, though. So don't forget to read the details on each of the WLC Program Components. There are some lessons you still need to learn to properly execute the program.